As I was browsing the internet for something to blog about I decided to look for something about women in Asia. I haven't really written anything about the circumstances of women in Asia, other than about China's One Child Policy, but we have talked a lot about Asia in class.
I googled "women in asia" and came across http://pacificislandtours.com/ and http://www.sunshine-international.com/. Both of these sites have the purpose of connecting men who are not from Asia to to Asian women via an online or "pen-pal" dating service. Pacific Island Tours is a "full service" business that will arrange scuba diving lessons, dinner reservations, and hotel accomodations for the couple. However, they make it very clear that they do not sell women as brides, and that the client has to win over the heart of his female friend because they do not arrange marriages.
Conerning arranging marriages, Sunshine International says it even better:
"Due to the feminist endorsed International Marriage Broker Regulation Act, IMBRA, a law which intrudes upon the privacy and civil liberties of men seeking foreign women, we will be restructuring our services to comply with the law."
The creators of Sunshine International are clearly ticked off about IMBRA. On their page describing the act, they provide testimonials of happily married couples in order to refute the idea that international marriage broker services and the men who use them often exploit women. They also assert that there is no such thing as a mail-order bride system.
It really amazes me at how ignorant people are to the abuses and exploitation of women (and men for that matter). It's probably just because of money. The almighty dollar means so much to us. Sites like this really inflame me, and make me understand even more that we desparately need a change of priorities in our hearts.
The suffering of women and children in the sex-trade industry, the suffering of women who are forced to endure genital mutilation, the fact that many women have to go without food for days because their husbands get to eat whatever food they might have first--the key to solving these problems is not in educating people's minds. Education serves its purposes, which are good, but if people don't want to be educated, how can it help? The tribal men in the middle east whose wives bow to their every whim don't want to be educated. They are being taken care of, so what else matters?
The real solution to the exploitation of any people or group is a change of heart. The human condition is absolutely deplorable. We live to please ourselves, with little to no thought of anyone else. If people really cared for people, and just considered others for even a moment, things could change. But in my opinion, all the knowledge in the world without a genuine kindness in the hearts of people for others will only allow these abuses to continue.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Blog 10
According to "The Independent World" website, in February of 2009 a female journalist who was in Sierra Leone was kidnapped by a secret society, forced to strip naked, and walk through the streets because she was reporting on genital mutilation. This headline really surprised me, because it seemed like the kind of behavior that I would have expected to see decades ago or longer, when the cat called "female circumcision" was first let out of the bag. This poor woman was publicly humiliated because she was fighting for the rights of thousands of girls all over the Middle-Eastern and African world, at least from an outsider's point of view. To many of the people in Sierra Leone, she was invading and bringing a public value judgment against a precious rite of passage.
Another woman from Sierra Leone is also appalled by female genital mutilation. Rugiatu Turay has created an organization called the Amazonian Initiative Movement. The organization works at the local level to stop female genital mutilation by directly stopping the "practitioners" who perform the surgeries. At the time of the publication of the article, about 400 "practitioners" had stopped performing female genital mutilation as a result of the organization.
Rugiatu Turay says that "Silence means consent." This really struck me. So many of us are comfortable living our lives for ourselves, doing our own thing. But there are so many women (and men) around the globe who are suffering tremendously, while we sit back and relax in the lap of luxury. We may agree that they have rough lives, feel sorry for them, even wish that we could help, but it's true: our silence is our consent. We must be a voice for the voiceless!
Another woman from Sierra Leone is also appalled by female genital mutilation. Rugiatu Turay has created an organization called the Amazonian Initiative Movement. The organization works at the local level to stop female genital mutilation by directly stopping the "practitioners" who perform the surgeries. At the time of the publication of the article, about 400 "practitioners" had stopped performing female genital mutilation as a result of the organization.
Rugiatu Turay says that "Silence means consent." This really struck me. So many of us are comfortable living our lives for ourselves, doing our own thing. But there are so many women (and men) around the globe who are suffering tremendously, while we sit back and relax in the lap of luxury. We may agree that they have rough lives, feel sorry for them, even wish that we could help, but it's true: our silence is our consent. We must be a voice for the voiceless!
Blog 9
According to a project by the UN called "Africa Renewal," HIV/AIDS infection in Africa is clearly gendered. One of their statistics is: of all people age 15-24 years who have HIV/AIDS in Africa, three quarters of them are women. They provide a few interesting theories as to why such a gender difference exists in the infection rates, and each possible reason reflects the gender bias in many Sub-Saharan African cultures.
One interesting reason they propose for the gendered nature of HIV/AIDS infection rates has to do with "sugar daddies." Like in many other third-world countries, women in Africa are treated as second-class citizens. Many of them cannot own land and cannot make even half of the wages that men make at their jobs, so it is very hard to provide for their families. Older men who are well-established may often be able to help a single young woman provide for herself and/or her children. He may request that she have sex with him in exchange for his help, or she may even offer sex herself. These "sugar daddies" may be "helping" more than one woman at once, or may "help" many women over the course of their years, so it is easy for the disease to be passed around. The young women then pass the disease to any future sex partners, and possibly their children, and the cycle continues.
One of the suggested methods of intervention has to do with education. There is a need to educate young African women about how HIV/AIDS is transmitted. But this type of "intergenerational transactional sex," as the website puts it, is fueled by poverty. More specifically, it is fueled by the poverty of African women. Although there are many poor men, their status as men provides them with opportunities not available to women.
Not only are more women in Africa affected with HIV/AIDS than men, but they also continue to face poorer conditions after contracting the disease. To begin with, many prevention programs are directed at men affected with HIV/AIDS, and women often do not have the access to the treatments & care-giving that men do.
What is the answer to this problem? The UN suggests sustained economic development, including a focus on opportunities for women, and education.
One interesting reason they propose for the gendered nature of HIV/AIDS infection rates has to do with "sugar daddies." Like in many other third-world countries, women in Africa are treated as second-class citizens. Many of them cannot own land and cannot make even half of the wages that men make at their jobs, so it is very hard to provide for their families. Older men who are well-established may often be able to help a single young woman provide for herself and/or her children. He may request that she have sex with him in exchange for his help, or she may even offer sex herself. These "sugar daddies" may be "helping" more than one woman at once, or may "help" many women over the course of their years, so it is easy for the disease to be passed around. The young women then pass the disease to any future sex partners, and possibly their children, and the cycle continues.
One of the suggested methods of intervention has to do with education. There is a need to educate young African women about how HIV/AIDS is transmitted. But this type of "intergenerational transactional sex," as the website puts it, is fueled by poverty. More specifically, it is fueled by the poverty of African women. Although there are many poor men, their status as men provides them with opportunities not available to women.
Not only are more women in Africa affected with HIV/AIDS than men, but they also continue to face poorer conditions after contracting the disease. To begin with, many prevention programs are directed at men affected with HIV/AIDS, and women often do not have the access to the treatments & care-giving that men do.
What is the answer to this problem? The UN suggests sustained economic development, including a focus on opportunities for women, and education.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Blog 8
While reading the first piece for week 13, "Women's Rights as Human Rights: Local and Global Perspectives," I really began to think about the number of women who suffer at the hands of political and religious rules in other countries. An enormous amount of women suffer losses of their "basic human rights" because of religious laws, political restrictions, and traditional gender role standards that are enforced in their countries and communities. We've learned about many non-governmental organizations that work to increase women's knowledge about their rights or help women gain access to the resources they need to succeed in thier countries. But there is still an amazing amount of women who suffer. Why aren't things changing quicker than they are?
I believe that in many cases, the rights of women are taken away by others. These women are left to suffer, and sometimes can't do a thing to get out of their situation. There is still a part of me, though, that has to question how many women suffer losses of their rights at the hands of others, but continue to suffer those losses on their own account. I know that people can hurt us and try to put limits on us, but at some point, we are ultimately responsible for many of the things that happen to us in life. It may not be a women's fault that she is continually raped by the men in her Muslim community because she is single, but she does have the choice to leave. Leaving may have other undesireable consequences, but she does have the choice to leave.
I know my opinions are definitely biased, especially considering the fact that I've never lived in a third-world country, or been forced to live by religious rules that I didn't take on myself. Even so, I still feel that for some situations, women can do more for themselves. I understand that it may be nearly impossible for one woman to stand up for women's rights on her own, but there is power in numbers. If local women from the community could get behind a movement to change things, change might happen, or at least be more likely to happen.
When it comes down to it, we can create all the organizations we want to liberate all the women around the enitre world, but if they don't really want it, nothing we do will have a good, long-term effect.
I believe that in many cases, the rights of women are taken away by others. These women are left to suffer, and sometimes can't do a thing to get out of their situation. There is still a part of me, though, that has to question how many women suffer losses of their rights at the hands of others, but continue to suffer those losses on their own account. I know that people can hurt us and try to put limits on us, but at some point, we are ultimately responsible for many of the things that happen to us in life. It may not be a women's fault that she is continually raped by the men in her Muslim community because she is single, but she does have the choice to leave. Leaving may have other undesireable consequences, but she does have the choice to leave.
I know my opinions are definitely biased, especially considering the fact that I've never lived in a third-world country, or been forced to live by religious rules that I didn't take on myself. Even so, I still feel that for some situations, women can do more for themselves. I understand that it may be nearly impossible for one woman to stand up for women's rights on her own, but there is power in numbers. If local women from the community could get behind a movement to change things, change might happen, or at least be more likely to happen.
When it comes down to it, we can create all the organizations we want to liberate all the women around the enitre world, but if they don't really want it, nothing we do will have a good, long-term effect.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Blog 7
WINBIZ (Women in Management and Business) is a non-governmental organization based out of Nigeria in Africa. It was founded by only a small group of people in Nigeria who had some serious issues with the way large business and corporations were being staffed. According to This Day, a newspaper (found on allafrica.com) the purpose of WINBIZ is to help women to be more successful in business in Africa. The goal is to help women to climb the coporate ladder, and to see more women in higher-up positions than are currently seen there.
In speaking with This Day, the Executive Secretary of WINBIZ described attitude of WINBIZ toward men. She stressed that WINBIZ is completely accepting of men. In fact, they want men to attend their conference. She insisted that people (both women and men) don't get where and what they want in business because they really don't want to achieve it. Although promoting women in business is the goal of WINBIZ, they understand that business opportunities should be open to all of humankind, not just to men or just to women.
According to the Executive Secretary, another goal of WINBIZ is to serve as a catalyst for the influence of women on Africa, and potentially on the world. By gaining more access to higher-up jobs, women can exert their presence and influence in their communities, and depending on the business, elsewhere. WINBIZ serves as one possible avenue of feminist agency for women in Africa. This organization wants to help women to learn to do their best in the field of business.
The theme of this year's conference is "Change the Game and Make a Difference."
In speaking with This Day, the Executive Secretary of WINBIZ described attitude of WINBIZ toward men. She stressed that WINBIZ is completely accepting of men. In fact, they want men to attend their conference. She insisted that people (both women and men) don't get where and what they want in business because they really don't want to achieve it. Although promoting women in business is the goal of WINBIZ, they understand that business opportunities should be open to all of humankind, not just to men or just to women.
According to the Executive Secretary, another goal of WINBIZ is to serve as a catalyst for the influence of women on Africa, and potentially on the world. By gaining more access to higher-up jobs, women can exert their presence and influence in their communities, and depending on the business, elsewhere. WINBIZ serves as one possible avenue of feminist agency for women in Africa. This organization wants to help women to learn to do their best in the field of business.
The theme of this year's conference is "Change the Game and Make a Difference."
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Blog/Week 6
I was browsing the New York Times online page, and I noticed a particular article with the date of May 2007. The article title was "Harsh Birth Control Steps Fuel Violence in China." I know we have talked over and over about China and the one-child policy, but I was still shocked to see a report on behaviors such as forced abortion and sterilization so recently. In fact, it's hard for me to understand how the one-child policy could have even ever been in effect--in the eighties, or now. My Western and individualist mind just can't wrap itself around the concept that someone could tell me how me children I am allowed to have, and when/if I have more, they could be aborted, or I could be forced to have my tubes tied. It just baffles me. Apparently it baffled some of the locals in the Guangxi Autonomous Region in southwestern China, too, because they spent four days burning offices and destroying government property because of it (according to the NYT article).
In some ways, I suppose I partially understand or agree with the need for population control. I understand that China is a growing nation that cannot really accommodate all of its people. But there are so many places in the world that are uninhabited. Perhaps they are uninhabited because they are uninhabitable, but with modern technology, there has to be a way for us to live in more places than we ever have before. Keeping that in mind, it's my opinion that the one-child policy has more to do with politics, power, and control than it does with maintaining a healthy population. When it really comes down to it, the one-child policy puts limits on human rights. I don't think its fair.
In some ways, I suppose I partially understand or agree with the need for population control. I understand that China is a growing nation that cannot really accommodate all of its people. But there are so many places in the world that are uninhabited. Perhaps they are uninhabited because they are uninhabitable, but with modern technology, there has to be a way for us to live in more places than we ever have before. Keeping that in mind, it's my opinion that the one-child policy has more to do with politics, power, and control than it does with maintaining a healthy population. When it really comes down to it, the one-child policy puts limits on human rights. I don't think its fair.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Blog/Week 5
Sometimes I wonder what it really means to be a feminist. I consider myself a feminist. I'm not fighting for the right to vote, or for the right to own property, or enter the army. I guess I'm not really "fighting" for anything. I definitely concern myself with the politics of gender, whether it be in my workplace, my relationship, or my research. I believe in equality of men and women and people of intersexualities all over the world. But there are so many definitions for that one word, feminist.
If you're a radical, you're a man-hating bra burner, and you want to live a matriarchal society where women are dominating and independent. At least this is the popular conception of radical feminism. I believe that this is popular conception of feminism in general. I think that's sad.
Can women who believe in traditional gender roles be feminist? Can a feminist be a stay-at-home mom who leaves all of the family decisions up to her husband? Can a woman who provides for herself by selling her body and enduring the literal abuse of men be a feminist? Can a stripper be a feminist? Is stripping for a living empowering, or is it just falling into a trap of being a product that a man can buy?
Even in our own culture, there is the potential for so many controversies surrounding what feminism means. I cannot begin to imagine what sorts of differences there are between "feminists" in the international realm. I have to wonder, is feminism really about women's rights, or is it about individual's rights? And, at what point does feminism become individualism?
If you're a radical, you're a man-hating bra burner, and you want to live a matriarchal society where women are dominating and independent. At least this is the popular conception of radical feminism. I believe that this is popular conception of feminism in general. I think that's sad.
Can women who believe in traditional gender roles be feminist? Can a feminist be a stay-at-home mom who leaves all of the family decisions up to her husband? Can a woman who provides for herself by selling her body and enduring the literal abuse of men be a feminist? Can a stripper be a feminist? Is stripping for a living empowering, or is it just falling into a trap of being a product that a man can buy?
Even in our own culture, there is the potential for so many controversies surrounding what feminism means. I cannot begin to imagine what sorts of differences there are between "feminists" in the international realm. I have to wonder, is feminism really about women's rights, or is it about individual's rights? And, at what point does feminism become individualism?
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